By Alex L. Goldfayn

January 27, 2007

More Super: At the Stadium or On the HDTV?

I live in Chicago, so my Chicago Bears typically play in the freezing-cold open-air Soldier Field. It's not just sort of cold there. It's so cold that the freeze gets into your bones (and I'm not a little guy), and you're still cold when you get home. The next day, you're still cold. In the hot shower, after a day at Soldier Field, I'm still freezing inside.

Which means that on most Sundays of the year, there's no question that I'd rather be parked on my couch, munching on snacks, and enjoying the room-temperature environment. Mostly, I'm enjoying watching my Bears play on our HDTV.

You can just see so much more of the game. You don't miss plays. (Sometimes when I watch football at the stadium, I feel like I do not receive adequate warning before a play begins. It just starts, and by the time you figure out where to look, it's over. I think the quarterback should be required to somehow signal the crowd that he is about to begin the play.) You see endless replays from endless angles. You sometimes get helpful commentary from the announcers. And, again, your body temperature does not drop.

Next Sunday, however, my Bears play in the Super Bowl. In Miami. Where it's not freezing.

So the question is -- if money were no object (tickets are currently running between $3,000 and $6,000 each) -- would you rather watch the Super Bowl live in Miami, or live on your HDTV?

Me, I'm watching it in HD glory at home. Twenty-one years between Super Bowls is too long to be missing plays!

What about you? Which is better, a high-definition Super Bowl, or a Super Bowl live, at the stadium?